Stewart Carr

A nurse has been struck off after using a fake reference to get a job at Luton & Dunstable Hospital.

Vaidha Masoka was employed at the hospital in March 2011 and used a fake reference, claiming it was from a ward sister at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Birmingham.

But after starting work, hospital bosses noticed problems with Mrs Masoka’s competence and assigned her a mentor – an order which she refused to comply with.

In a subsequent investigation, it was found the ward sister from Birmingham had no knowledge of supplying Mrs Masoka with a reference and denied that the signature was hers. It was judged to be fake.

The case was heard before the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in a four-day hearing from January 16 to 20.

All charges were found proved against Mrs Masoka, and the judging panel ordered her name to be struck off the NMC register.

The NMC stated: “Your dishonesty was for personal gain, namely the securing of employment. It resulted in the submission of an employment reference which misleadingly portrayed you to be a more competent registrant than you were.

“In the panel’s judgment, this would have placed the patients in your care at risk.”

Giving evidence, the ward sister said she wouldn’t have given Mrs Masoka a reference, as the latter had undergone “performance management” while at Birmingham. She was also “emphatic” that the handwriting was not hers.

The NMC also stated: “By refusing a reasonable management request to work with [the mentor] to monitor the quality of your work, you placed the safety of your patients at risk.

“You failed to work cooperatively with [the mentor] and failed to respect her skills and expertise.”

Since leaving Luton & Dunstable Hospital, Mrs Masoka has found employment as a healthcare worker without requirements for NMC registration.